i. >> i thought you were going to say smoking. >> no, i love smoking. we're seeing the raw power of hurricane michael just within the past hour or so, we have seen the winds intensify significantly. as you can see behind me,arts of this town are completely underwater. >> we put this mattress in front of the window. you know, we wann to be the air,ut we've got to take care of each other. >> michael is the strongest hurricane to strike the florida panhandle on record. this morning thousands are facing massive destrtion and widespread power failure. and we're just learning of fatalities in the wake of this powerful stm. the did president trump just deliver another insulting blow to attorney generaleff sessions? right now, asiantocks are crumbling in the wake of the dow jones 800-point drop with tech d

stocksgging down the markets. but good news ahead for some lucky winners as powerball and omga millionsned jackpots are approaching $1 billion. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm marlie ha. the carolinas are bracing for impact as tropical storm michael barrels through central georgia. though downgraded from a hurricane, michael i still bringing damaging winds, localizedlash flooding, and widespread tornado risks to a region still reeling from the last storm. georgia's seminole county ema director travis brooks says an 11-year-old child has died.ho ver, the exact circumstances are not yet known. michael has already drencd some parts of the state with nearly six inches of rain so far. and nearly 700,000 people throughout georgia, florida, and alabama are still without power. >> up and down the east coast, more than 60 million people are

under flash flood watches stretching from georgia all the way up to new england. as the storm travels north, florida governor rick scott says the focus will now be on search, rescue, and recovery. >> we are deploying aassive wave of response. we will be sending air, land, and sea. >> nbc's kristen dahlgren is int south carolina the very latest. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning to u, phillip and marlie. michael still has quite a bit here this erning. you ca these high winds. i'm going to hold on to m hat here because it would not stay on myhead. at times it actually is moving me around. still these really powerful winds. triple threatf a still as we go through the morning. so we've got these winds that you can see could definitely take down some trees, treemb so we could see some more power outages. already hundreds of thousands of people without power through the southeast here. and then we've gotad tos. the threat of tornadoes. so there have been tornadorn

gs here all night long. they continue to go through the morning here, the thrt of tornadoes. and then there's the rain that's coming in bands. right n it's dry here, but we have seen some rain. and some places could get another eight inches or so of rain here today. and so these are areas, asou mentioned, the ground already saturated after hurricane florce. so we could see some dangerous potentially deadly fngsh floo so this is going to continue to affecteoillions ofe as michael moves through the carolinas today into virginia and then finly exits off the coast sometime overnight tonight. so still a lot of problems ahead for this storm, guys. >> can't come soon enough. kristen dahlgren holding her ground in south carolina. kristen, thank you. meteorologist bonnie schneider is here tracking michael. as we just heard, the biggest concern now flooding. >> and that risk for tornadoes that we jelt heard as because the storm coming onshore bring about aioot of fri when that happens. that's why there's still the

risk in south carolina for tornadoes this morning. heavy rain through atlanta. it been thunderstorms there throughout the night with tropical storm michael, once a as a tropical storm it's one, going to be a rainmaker for chlotte, forraleigh, up through northern virginia, and even into the new york city tri-state area we're expecting some heavypo dos. for that reason, we are looking at a flood watch. this oneon goes throughht all the way from boston, new york, philly, down through raigh. 63 million americans at risk for flooding for today. that flood threat will persist through theternoon. the flood watches are issued and the heaviest rain should be along the coast rathe than further inland. tropical storm force winds is another thing we're watching. unfortunately theion of these winds right where we had florence. that's going to be abeca m are last oblem hurr icane to have more wd coming through. >> that's important to keep in mind. bonnie, thank you. as bone mentioned, that storm is moving north, but florida is now looking ahead to. recove michael leaving behind a path of

to get worse as michael moves north. this is already going to go down as the mosfu pow hurricane to hit the florida panhandle in history. a catastrcoptoun sdedrm s theur. destruive winds up to 155 eiles per hour that ripped off roofs and t down power lines. and flooding that literally left neighborhoods in towns under feet of water. this storm has already claimed at least one life,s and florid governor is promising to focus now on the sear, the rescue an. recovery here fortunately or unfortunately there's going t a be lot more to see once the sun comes up. that's the latest here in tallahassee. i'm wendy woolfolk, backo you. >> wendy, thank you. as michael carves a path across the southeast, we're getting our first look at the utterlyop catasc trail of

destruction this storm left behind in florida. in pantya powerful 150-mile-per-hour winds shredded buildings, even ripping the side off of a bank. michael made landfall there as a category 4 storm. e strongest on record to ever strike the florida panhandle. nbc's lester holt and his crew were directly in the path of the storm and had tunr down and ride it out in their hotel. >> reporter: within minutes, conditions deteriorated right outside my thwindow. power is now out. we were outside for a little bit. fwe wereced inside. hurricane michael proving to be ev aything it wasertised to be. joining my colleagues innother om with a balcony, we went live on air. an unobstructed and frightening view of michael at its most ferocious. as i have my hand on this window, i can feel it bowing.

0-mile-per-hour winds howling like jet engines it's like an airplane taking off. fellow hotel guests hunkering down inside hallways. withnditions worsened and safety the utmostprorioriad, we barric ourselves in a room. we put this mattress in front of the window. t want to be on the air but we've got toe care of each other, so we're going to do that. so know that we're safe, but o're going to have t sign off. finally what seemed to shall the worst of the storm passing us. the visibility muchetter now. i think we're, as the radar indicates, we seem to be on the ck size of this thing. surveying from our covered overlook, we could see damage everywhere, and one floor above in my producer's room, the hotel window shattered. >> that's important to show those images to show just ohio how powerful it can be. >> right now we're still looking at heavy

rthain storm came in as a record-breaking hurricane yesterday along the panhandle of florida. right now the movement has s hoed up to the thtos t . orththeaestro 2blem i ast0 it's bring winds andpoain to a good ion of the carolinas and even into the northeast. we have a risk for flooding all the way from boston down through macon, georgia. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at the day ahead. hurricane michael a big wind threat across much of the rolinas. agaihis region hit hard by hurricane florence. strong winds today. not whathey need. >> thanks so much. today's quick hits. it is the 30th anniversary of nation coming o day. all over the country, people will be celebrated for publicly identifying themselves as members. lgbtq community. a vintage 19d 56 twa aircraft ifk airport tli in new. the aircraft will serve as a cocktail lounge outside the

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♪ i'll help you carry on. ♪ lean on me. yesterday was the worst day on wall street since february. and today it's hitting asian markets hard. the dow plunged more than 800 points, and the s&p plummeting over 3% as tech stocks dropped amid growing trade tensions with china and worries over rapidly rising interest rates. last night on fox, presint trump denied that his trade war with china was to blame. >> the problem in my opinion is treasuries and the fed. the fed is goi loco, and there's no reason for them to do it. it i'm not happy about >> this morning we're getting yet another signal that president trump is ready to replace his attorney general. according to a new report from "the washington post," the president spoke with jeff

sessions' own chief of staff about taking over that role. here's what the commander inox chief told news when he was asked if sessions is on his way out. >> we're going to see what happens. let's alle. we'll see what happens with some other positions. bu i will say we have a great cabinet. i think we have one of the best binets ever. >> according to the post, it was unclear if the president offerob the j to sessions' top ierim ba more permanent. in an interview last month, t president said, quote, i don't have an attorney general. >> this morning, t operator of the limousine company whose vehicle was involved in tl 20 sh that killed saturday faces charges of criminally negligent homicide. auman hussain was arrested yesterday during traffic stop and has pled not guilty. this crash is the deadliest transportation crash in the u.s. since 2009. he's nbc's tom costello with the latest.

>> reporter: days after that horrific crash, state police arrested the man who they say runs the limo company. 28-year-old nauman hussain. >> the sole responsibility for that motor vehicle being on the road on saturdaes r with nauman hussain. >> reporter: police say hussain had received written notices that driver scott lisnicchia did not have the license to drive the limo, which had been ordered off the road following multiple safety violations. hussain's attorney says the statens bears resility for an unsafe intersection. >> this road was a problem. it was a known problem to the state of new york.r: >> reporhe limo company is owned by nauman hussain's father, shahed, who is in pakistan. ree families of the 20 people who died a now preparing for funerals. among them, michael ukai's wparents? >> h my baby. he was my heart. he was everything to me, and now he's gone. >> reporter: tom costello, nbc

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ft forwarding into thursday, n former quarterback colin kaepernick is among eight people being honored by harvard

university with the medal for their contributions to black history and culture. comedian dave chappelle is also among the recipients. harvey weinstein is due in a courtroom as his lawyers aretr ng to get charges thrown out. the charges include two counts of rape. weinstein has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail. later on today, michelle obama is live on set along with kelly clarkson and meghan trainor to celebrate the international day of the girl. president trump is demanding answers about the mis journalist who was last seen entering the country's consulate ul.ista officials have told nbc news they believe jamal khashoggi was murdered inside the while president trump has vowed to get to the bottom of his disappearance, he's not yetmi ready to c to ending arms sales to saudi arabia as some lawmakers have called for. here's what he had to say about that proposal to fox news in a late interview. >> frankly, i think thatould

be a very, very tough pill to swallow for our country. i mean you're affecting us, and they're always quick to jump in that way. ti'd have find out really before i discussed this, i'd have to find out what happened. >> meanwhile, there are new images of the alleged hit squad purportedly sent after jamal. nbc's foreign affairs correspondent andreaha mitchell the latest. >> reporter: new images on turkish television released by authorities there showing an alleged 15-man saudi hit team arriving in istanbul on two private planes, then leaving their hotels. gteir suspected target, a saudi dissident, "wash post" writer jamal khashoggi, last seenhe entering saudi consulate in istanbul the same day. some turkish officials tell nbc news they believe he was killed inside. the white house demanding answers from the saudi rulers after an emotional appeal from his fiancee. >> we' c intact with her now, and we want to bring her to the w it's a very sad situation. it's a very bad situation, and

we want to get to the bottom of it. >> reporter: khashoggi is a leading critic of saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman. the young leader closely allied with the president and his son-in-law, jared kushner. kushn kushner, john beolton, and mike pompeo have talked to the prince about khashoggi. >> if this man was murdered in the saudi consulate in istanbul, if it did happen, there would be hell to y. >> reporter: the saudi leaders denying any involvement in the journalist's disappearance. just ahead, we'll have the very latest on tropical storm michael as itow barrelsd the carolinas. you're watching "early today" on a thursday. 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and (new) sweeper heavy duty cloths

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after trump's u.n. ambassador nikki haley resigned, cn aired a graphic of all the officials who have left his administration. take a look at this. yeah. it l lookse the yearbook for the whitest high school ever. >> i don't think anybody ever accusedhe trump administration of being big on diversity. you hire a lot of employees that look the same, t you're going have a lot of ex-employees that look the same. >> an interesting group ofsu alumni for. hey, bonnie. >> we are still tracking michael coming in as an incredible hurricane, one for the record books. even though it's now a tropical storm, check out the fact this was the first catory 4 ever to hit the florida panhandle, and one of the stronst on cord. when we measure hurricane

strength, it has to do with the barometricpressure. currently heavy rain for atlanta with this tropical storm. those downpours have really been continuing throughout the overnight. look at the risk for heavy rain includinve, six inches into the carolinas and that flood threat will extend all the way to the northeast includingel philia, boston, and new york all under flood watches through the afternoon hours. rong winds right now along the coast. that's where we're getting some of the stronger areas of win t fr georgia coast through the carolinas. and what's important to note is right here throu hatteras, down through charleston, areas impacted by hurricane florence not too long ago getting that wind and rain today. really the last thing that they need unfortunately as weatch this tropical storm zip to the northeast. it's still going to be a rain and wind maker for today and tonight. >> thanks for keeping an eye on that for us. just ahead, w will go live to hilton head island has mi aael makes beeline for the carolinas. you're watching "early today."

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blap similar scenes played out across flornia, and this m hundreds of thousands are without power. overnight, the storm moved north, hitting georgia and heading into th carolinas. in georgia, an 11-year-old boy wasfi killed. rst responders say it took them nearly 30 minutes to get to him, butt was too late. they say it looked like a bomb d gone off in the county where he lived. this morning we're expecting some of that rain to hit our regi . because oat, we're in weather alert mode. >> melissa mollet is standin by wi check on the roads for us. let's sta with storm team 4's amelia draper. where is the storm now? what can we expect? >> the storm right now is still down in parts of georgia and south carolina. it's going to be heading north

throughout the day today. as it combines with a cold front in our area, we'll have the potential for some